Dear Conservative Women: I Want to See You on the Ballot, Too

Mindy Finn ran for vice-president in 2016. Though she didn’t win, she’s not done fighting for a representative government.

By Mindy Finn

“I didn’t plan to run for vice president this year… or ever.”

This line always earned laughs from the crowd, and it became a frequent part of my speeches during presidential campaign events in 2016. I was Independent candidate Evan McMullin’s running mate, but the root of that joke is true. I didn’t plan any of this. I’d been a digital media executive with two small children and years of loyalty to the Republican Party when I saw the dire threat Donald Trump posed to democracy, and I did the unthinkable — I ran for vice president as an Independent, against my party’s nominees.

The 2016 election was a wake up-call for many women in America. The issues we care about like national security, health care, and the economy were often overshadowed by gotcha stories and the latest presidential campaign scandal. We heard horrifying comments about assault dismissed as nothing more than “locker room talk.” Women disgusted by the race and its outcome now have two options: sit down and take it, or stand up and fight for our…